bit worried - new peopel on yard think its ok to hit their horses on face

[aimsymc]

dallastheo, your saying act like a horse, another horse would bite or kick in retaliation for biting, are you suggesting either of theese??

 

[Daytona]

If they hit my horse in the face, then I would hit them inthe face..!!! See how they liked it...!!

 

[Jemima_P]

We have a biter at the moment, really nasty with it. I will admit to tapping her muzzle when she really goes for it, it's dangerous and I will not have her doing it. Especially as her field is next to a footpath and she often gets attention from people.
Most of the time I don't have to do it anymore, growling her name is enough.
She isn't headshy in the slightest.

 

[Goldenstar]

Im glad foxhunter came out in the open and admitted she gives her horse a slap on the nose now and again.. im the same if mine tries a cheeky nip.. he knows what he is doing and he knows the result.
I don t know how i would manage in a yard situation but if i was the op i wouldnt really be posting a thread like this about someone unless i wanted all out war.

OP luckyoldme makes a good point be cautious unless you what a crash course on DIY livery yard politics.

 

[overtherainbow]

dallastheo, your saying act like a horse, another horse would bite or kick in retaliation for biting, are you suggesting either of theese??

Exactly this! I have a youngster and the response he gets from the other horses if he tries to nip is a threat of a bite (or more if hes not quick to back off) and sent away- not exactly practical in a stable! As far as i can tell the closest thing to this people have suggested on this thread is a brief slap on the nose (with the hand)... This has never caused any of my horses to become head shy (and it cant hurt that much as i have a horse who plays a game which involves tapping him on the nose and he loves it...)

However the grooms at my old livery yard were seen wave a whip around in front of my horses front to make her back off when they entered the stable- this made her extremely head shy and defensive for a long time (and no they never hit her face). I moved as soon as i found out.

 

[blood_magik]

there's a difference between slapping to correct behaviour and slapping out of anger.

if any of my horses bite, they get a slap because it's bad behaviour and it needs to be stopped before it becomes a regular thing.

Usually it's just a tap but it they really went for it, I'd have no problems giving them a hard slap - but not near the head. that's one thing I don't agree with.

 

[dallastheo]

nooo I wouldnt bite or kick a horse..i would never hurt them! i just mean in a human-horse way... in a way for them to respect you... as we all no hitting them wont make them respect u,., its hard to explain without sounding odd!
just like my friend uses a rope as a same action as a horse would swish their tail at another to tell them ' your getting too close' but without the need to touch them with it, anyhow, all im saying is i hate people being nasty to horses !

 

[Jesstickle]

Nitty got a smack on the nose on Friday. I went to the field to get them in and she was crowding the gateway. I pushed her in the chest and told her to get back and the little madam tried to bite me on the shoulder. She got my coat and missed my face by about half an inch. As I was stood in front of her the only bit available to slap was her nose so that's where she got it. Is she terrified of me as a result? No of course she isn't. She knows damn well she isn't to bite me. In fact she also knows damn well not to crowd the gateway when I arrive too, she was just in a huff because it was raining.

Would I slap something in the face for being bolshy like the OP is describing? I guess not. I don't know what it would actually achieve. But then I don't know what the liveries horses are actually doing. But some things really do deserve instant retribution. I will not be bitten or kicked for anyone I'm afraid. It hurts too much.

 

[shellonabeach]

Funny this was posted today as my old boy got a slap on the side of his face this morning, after all other reprimands had failed. He is occassionally bolshy in the stable and was very rude this morning ramming me into the door as I was doing up the front of his rug because he wanted to have his head right out over the door. Several times I pushed him back, gave him a smack on the chest, verbally told him off and he continued to be rude and ignore me (he is 22 and I have owned him 17 years). I can't remember ever smacking him on the face before but he instantly behaved, stood quietly back from the door as asked and wasn't at all worried that I was going to hit him again because as mentioned it was done as a reprimand not in anger.

However for the OP you can only ensure your horse isn't going to get hit if he is not in a field with these other liveries horses. By your own admission he is isn't just a gate hog but is bolshy with it. I wouldn't want someone waving a whip at him or giving him a slap if he were mine. In the same token thought I was barged over and trampled by a bolshy cob a couple of years ago who had no manners at the gateway, I was lucky she didn't kick my head. A slap on the chest would not have stopped her and given her behaviour on a livery yard was dangerous she was put into a paddock on her own where only her owner then had to deal with her.

 

[CatStew]

I gave another horse on the yard a tap on the nose a few weeks ago as he kept biting my horse when they were out in the field, and said horse has been known to rip others rugs off of them.

My other horse tried to kick me last week so I kicked her back.

ETA: However: If I ever saw anybody hitting/kicking a horse uneccesarily then I would have to say something about it. Years and years ago I saw a girl (proper spoilt brat) beating her horse with a pitchfork for no apparent reason. I went a bit crazy at her which ended up in a brawl on the yard!

 

[sjmcc]

i dont think it ok to smack a horse in the face i dont smack mine as it never gets that far he,s fairly good with the tone of my voice but if he wasnt id smack his shoulder or chest it is a worrie when you see people do it because you wonder if they,d do it to others i also wouldnt smack eneybody elses i feel its not my place . i also would go mad if i caught eneybody smack mine they,d be lucky if they got away with it

 

[littlemisslauren]

Like others, if a horse goes to bite me they will get a slap on the nose while they are still going for me.

I will also wave my arm infront of a horses head to gain some kind of personal space. I detest bargy horses, I will not be barged and injured. A quick flap of my arm / rope / whatever will encourage the horse to respect my space without causing any issues with being headshy etc.

 

[legyield]

I worked at a rather posh dressage yard in Barcelona, and at the time I was working there a dutch lad had come over for the summer. He certainly had ideas above his station and thought he was utterly God's gift to the dressage world.
Anyway he'd been given a small PRE stallion to work with who was really strong. When he didn't do exactly what was asked of him, said dutch lad used to jump off and literally PUNCH him in the face. I told him to stop doing it at risk of making the horse headshy but oh no, there was no reasoning with him. Wouldn't surprise me if he was totally headshy now, was disgusting behaviour!

 

[VixieTrix]

I occasionally 'bop' Ned on the nose if he's being pushy. I would never smack or hit him in the face properly, unless I felt it was the only way to get out of a dangerous situation for either of us. When I do bop him on the nose, it doesn't hurt him or make him head shy, it's just a small reminder, which works!

At a show, I have seen a child smack a horse in the face with her whip. I don't know who it was (I assume mother or horses owner) stormed over, plucked the child off the pony and snapped the whip. Haha! I hope she learnt her lesson.

So sad that people don't have more respect for these lovely animals and same as you Annielusian one of ours occasionally forgets his manners and goes to push you around or gives a little nip so he gets a little flick on the nose to bring his attention back but thats it!!

 

[LaurenBay]

I will give my mare a little smack on her nose if she bites. Afterall if she bit her herd leader, whilst out in the field she would probably get a bite to her face, to put her back in line.

I have had to hit someone else's Horse before (it was a Horse I was sharing at the time) And yes it was around her head! I did NOT have a choice! I was completly honest with the owner, I told her what had happened and she said she was glad I did it and wouldv'e done the same in my situation.

Heres what happened, I was tunring out said Horse, she was being very bolshy and bargy and was cantering sidewards most of the way to her field. To get to her field, you need to walk past it as the gate is at the end Horse could see her friends and decicded sod it, she wasn't going to walk to the gate, she would just barge through the hedges and fencing. There was a tree in the way and I managed to get sandwiched between the Horse and the tree. I asked her to move away from me and nothing. I was winded and was struggling to breath. I could hear my ribs cracking and Horse was showing no signs of stopping. I smacked her on the neck and nothing. So I smacked her round the head. It stopped her! I then managed to get her in the field ok. I was ok too, some slight bruises but nothing serious. That was the first and last time the Horse has ever tried that!

 

[fatpiggy]

In the ideal world, no I wouldn't smack a horse on the face, but in an emergency situation eg. to stop it dragging you out of an open gate onto a road, then yes I most certainly would. In fact I did it just last weekend when a shire x dragged its 7stone sharer out of the stable and made a bee-line for my horse's feed containing a large amount of drugs which would have been a fatal dose if she'd got the lot. The sharer is a very experienced person and was screaming and shouting at the horse but it fell on deaf ears so just as it got its jaws down towards my bucket I open-hand slapped it across the side of its muzzle. It did the trick and no harm was done. Far better though, if people train their horses properly from day one to accept that no means no and barging is out of the question. It wasn't the sharer's fault, wasn't the horse's fault really, it knows no better and was hungry.

 

[suzi]

Nitty got a smack on the nose on Friday. I went to the field to get them in and she was crowding the gateway. I pushed her in the chest and told her to get back and the little madam tried to bite me on the shoulder. She got my coat and missed my face by about half an inch. As I was stood in front of her the only bit available to slap was her nose so that's where she got it. Is she terrified of me as a result? No of course she isn't. She knows damn well she isn't to bite me. In fact she also knows damn well not to crowd the gateway when I arrive too, she was just in a huff because it was raining.

Would I slap something in the face for being bolshy like the OP is describing? I guess not. I don't know what it would actually achieve. But then I don't know what the liveries horses are actually doing. But some things really do deserve instant retribution. I will not be bitten or kicked for anyone I'm afraid. It hurts too much.

Agree with this.

Mine can be a baulshy sod and had little manners when I got him. We're gradually getting there with boundary setting but it's taking a while. If he's genuinely agressive I will stand up to him with my body language. This worked well to start with and one day he went up and boxed at me in the stable when I went to feed him. Queue a short sharp reminder who is boss (a slap on the neck and I shoved his shoulder with both hands). Did it hurt him - not a chance (I'm not strong enough!) but my god was he shocked that someone had stood up to him!

Geenerally I try and teach him his manners in a more positive manner but when circumstances dictate I will give him a slap.

I don't smack him round the face (but I would if I was in danger and I had no other option) but the odd time he has gone to bite me, I have turned my arm / elbow so as he moves his head he gets a 'bump' on the underside of his jaw. He's not head shy and this has been an effective way of improving his manners as he only trys to bite very occasionally now.

If I had brought him up from baby things would be difference as I would have tried to set the boundaries much earlier on. But I didn't and so I've had to use a little bit of tough love.

I'd rather not have to do it but I will if I have to.